Hammer's Pride by E.C. Land (brene brown rising strong TXT) 📕

for him. Nor will you be for anyone, whore.’ I know the number that sent me this picture all too well, and the fact it’s now popping up on my new number sends panic straight through my system. Because now my brother’s found me, and he’ll make sure to make me pay for running when he had plans for me.

Chapter Twelve

Avery

I sit in my office longer than I should, staring at the phone on my desk. It’s long since darkened, the screen hiding the image that is still open in the messages. I have two options, confront Hammer and tell him to leave me alone, or I get the first bus ticket so I can get the hell out of dodge.

Powering up my laptop, I pull up my bank account—the one I use for myself and not the business. I quickly calculate in my head how doable getting a ticket and leaving town is gonna be.

My head is a jumbled mess, and I can’t think straight. What with my heart in shambles over a man I’ve barely known, I think it’s safe to say I’m entitled to be in a mess? But as a pair of arms encircle me from behind, I wish I hadn’t been. I let out a screech of terror and nearly jump out of the chair. If not for the arms enclosed around me, I probably would have and, in the process, would have landed on my ass.

“Sunshine, what the fuck?” Nausea churns at the sound of Hammer’s voice behind me.

“Wh—what are you doing here?” I ask nervously as I pull out of his grasp, stand to my feet, and look at him. I don’t need him touching me right now. His hands on me will confuse me even more and make me feel dirty with the knowledge that I know I’m not enough.

How did I not see or hear him come into the room?

“Came to check on you,” Hammer says, crossing his arms over his chest. “Quinn and Willow were worried and asked Tap to get a hold of me ‘cause you hadn’t been in the front of the shop and weren’t in the kitchen. What’s wrong?”

Oh, God.

That question is hilarious, and if I could, I’d probably laugh my tail off at just how many things right now are wrong. But then again, I can’t get the image that’s now burned into my brain of him and those two bimbos.

Shaking my head, I cast my eyes down to the floor. “I think you should leave. I’m fine,” I murmur, unsure if I can handle getting into it with him. But this right here confirms I’ll have to make it work getting a ticket and getting out of here.

“You’re not fine, Avery. Now tell me what’s wrong, or I’ll find a way to make you tell me,” he demands, taking a step forward.

“Don’t,” I utter mutely as I step back, my thighs hitting my desk. I knew I didn’t have any way of escaping him.

“Don’t what, Avery? Don’t worry about what the hell has crawled up your ass? Or the fact, I came in here to find you completely out of it with tears in your eyes. Told you, babe, you’re mine, and I will protect you from whatever it is. Now tell me what’s wrong,” he growls.

I close my eyes, lower my head. He wants to know what’s wrong, but he already does. But I’ll give him what he wants this one time. Without opening my eyes, I reach out and snag my phone off my desk and open it. I then hold it out to him as I give him his answer. “I knew I wasn’t enough, so you don’t have to hide it anymore.”

Hammer snatches the phone from my hand, and all of a sudden, I hear the sounds of my phone smashing against the wall. “That shit, Avery, isn’t me. I wouldn’t do that shit to a woman I’ve claimed to be mine. I’m a lot of things, babe, but I’m not a fuckin’ cheat. This shit about you not being enough needs to stop,” he snarls, his fingers wrap around my biceps, and he pulls me into him. “Look at me,” he commands, and I’m unable to go against his order. I open my eyes and tilt my head to look up at him. “I’m not goin’ to have you sittin’ here thinkin’ shit like that and looking at bus tickets. What the fuck?”

Um, ugh.

I decide to go with the only thing I can think of. “If I were enough, why haven’t you had sex with me?” I ask ever so quietly.

Hammer stares down at me for a brief second before he moves, and when he does, I’m not ready. His mouth comes down in a crushing, bruising kiss. Hands move, ripping my shirt from my body then he shoves my jeans down. Without breaking the kiss, he leans me backward until my back presses into my desk.

My mind is reeling, and his hands don’t stop as he spreads my legs and steps in between them. Hammer lifts his head just enough to meet my gaze at the same time I feel him release himself. I open my mouth to speak, but Hammer has other ideas and slams his mouth on mine at the same time thrusts his girth deep inside my entrance.

I moan into his mouth, my body arching at the invasion. He stills deep inside me for a second. I mean a second before he takes me with savage thrusts. The entire time he powers into me, his mouth stays on mine absorbing the cries of pleasure and pain combined. I’ve never experienced anything so raw and powerful. If he didn’t have his mouth on mine, I know everyone would be hearing the noises coming from me.

Hammer breaks the kiss and lifts his body over mine; his thrusts don’t stop, but his gaze focuses on mine, and I see the harsh lines in his